Nevada GOP Mulls Keeping Marriage Definition, Abortion in Platform

Nevada Republicans meeting in Las Vegas this weekend are deciding whether a definition of marriage and statements opposing abortion should stay in the state platform.

A platform committee is meeting Friday to discuss the contents of the document, while a vote is scheduled Saturday.

The Clark County Republican Party voted last month to remove platform language defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Political director Nick Phillips says the statement didn’t fit with the party’s beliefs about personal liberty.

State GOP finance chair Dan Schwartz says he expects the state party will follow suit and says Republicans should steer clear of social issues if they want to win elections.

Others, such as Republican Assemblyman Ira Hansen, say such a move would further alienate the socially conservative GOP base.

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Comments

Wayne Madden, 2014-04-11 21:29:46

The Republicans have a choice. They can truly defend personal freedom and choice by removing language against marriage equality or they can merely pretend they defend freedom by keeping that language in their platform. The ball is in their court.

Several gay couples helped a coalition of advocacy groups in Nevada put a face on what they called marriage equality, launching a push to get the Legislature in 2015 and voters in 2016 to change the state constitution to allow same-sex marriages.

Nevada’s decision not to defend the state’s ban on gay marriage leaves a conservative group that pushed for the constitutional amendment to carry on the legal fight alone before a federal appeals court.